The present invention is directed to an electro-hydraulic bucket arrangement for material handling, and especially for digging into frangible material such as ore, scrap metal, grain and the like, and the transport of such dug-up material to another location.
Bucket arrangements are well-known and typically fall into the class of mechanical buckets where two bucket bowls are pivotal toward and away from each other to gather material and transport it to a desired area. However, all of these prior bucket arrangements have been complicated and are difficult to maintain due to the many movable parts making up the arrangement, and particular to the open placement of the operative motors, pumps, hydraulic gear and controls so that they can be easily damaged during use.
A further difficulty in the prior art devices results from uneven distribution of the hydraulic power means with respect to the bowls.
A particular difficulty arises when it is desired to employ the bucket in "hot" material such as coke, ore and the like. The exposure of the power units, i.e. motors and pump, as well as the control units, severely restricts the depth to which the bucket can be immersed in the material, and therefore the amount of material capable of being grabbed in the bowls on closing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-powered bucket overcoming the aforementioned difficulties and disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a self-powered bucket in which the power units are housed in a water-tight and insulated enclosure, thereby permitting full immersion of the bowls.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a self-powered bucket wherein the bowls are pivoted in such a manner as to permitting them wide opening even under immersed conditions.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a simple, economical construction and easily repairable buckets.
The foregoing objects, other objects as well as numerous advantages will be seen from the following disclosure of the present invention.